What a month it has been for us here in Uganda. If your November was anything like ours, it flew by. It seems like just yesterday we were preparing for November and now here it is, December 2nd. November was filled with outreach, celebration, Thanksgiving, and rain, lots and lots of rain. And you can imagine what happens when most of the roads are made of dirt and have poor drainage.
Our neighbors get their car stuck in their driveway almost every day. We are in the middle of El Niño, which is a period of change in rainfall, because of temperature changes in the Pacific Ocean. If you would like to read more about it click here.
Thank you for praying for our community outreach on the 7th of November. We were thankful that a team from Watoto Suubi came and organized the whole day. We started the day off early with the students from our school. We headed out into the community with trash cans and rubber gloves and began picking up rubbish all over the streets and homes. We swept local shop fronts and even managed to help in fixing a part of the road that was inches deep in mud. Shouts of "thank you!" and "God bless you!" followed us everywhere we went. The locals could not believe that we were willing to come and serve them in this way. The rest of the day was filled with games, worship and dance, preaching, and drama/skits. We had 6 lives dedicated to Christ! If God brought us through that whole day and the only thing that happened had been that, it would have been 100% worth it. How humbling it is that God calls each and every one of us to be His light no matter where we are.
We also celebrated the school's first Kindergarten Graduation and Arts Day on the 21st. The day was full of joy and celebration. One thing that brought tears to my eyes was seeing the appreciation and pride some of the parents had for their children. It's one thing for us to know the children, and it's a whole other thing to see them with their families and the boldness they get from being loved. We all have the potential to raise a new generation of leaders in this nation and this world by one simple act, raising our children in the love of the Father. Let's rise up together and raise children all over the world in boldness.
Some other exciting life happenings -
Silvester got his passport and all the details are perfect! He got his first one in July only to find that they had misprinted his birthday. This led to another long process of getting it reprinted and having to pay the full price once again. As some of you know, we are starting the process for Silvester to come to the USA. It is a long and humbling process, but we are so thankful that the passport is here!
We celebrated Thanksgiving at our home on the 28th. We invited a group of friends to come and join us and ended up having a party of 14. Silvester and his friend, Brian, had the idea to roast a whole pig for the meal. After a full day of cooking, our meal consisted of pork instead of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, homemade dinner rolls, green beans, fruit, oreo dessert, and pumpkin pie. For some of the Ugandans, it was their first "American" Thanksgiving, and they really enjoyed. We ended the evening with a campfire and s'mores!
School is now on break until February. This is a very long break for Silvester and I and right now we are trying to keep busy. Silvester is doing many projects around the house that needed fixing and I am sending emails to volunteers and doing other household chores. God has been laying family and women's ministry on our hearts for quite a while now. We really feel like during this time, God will open doors for us to start this ministry through Haven of Hope in the community. Friday (Dec. 4) we are meeting with our director to share our ideas with him. Please pray that God would be with us during this time and that He would make his plans clear to us!
We have set up our Christmas tree and lights (even before Thanksgiving) and are excited for this holiday season. We have connected with a marrieds small group in church and have made some good friends through church. It has taken quite a while but God is faithful. We will be traveling to Jinja, Uganda for Christmas with Silvester's sister and boyfriend to explore some waterfalls and go to the beach and, most importantly, to take time away and relax!
Our puppies have become a huge part of our lives (almost like children!) and they are growing like weeds. Just an update on them in case you were wondering how they are doing.
We love hearing from each and every one of you! Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers for us. We would also like to pray for you in any way possible. Let us know of any ways we can pray for you personally during this holiday season!
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